Egypt manager Gharib wants early league start

Egypt manager Shawky Gharib and his technical staff are asking the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) to move the start of the next Egyptian league season ahead by a month.

The EFA previously announced that the 2014/15 league year was to kick-off by mid-September. However, the Pharaohs are due to begin their 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign on September 6 against Senegal, meaning Gharib’s choice of domestic-based players will have been idle for over two months. Gharib’s staff says it prefers a mid-August start to the league.

EFA executive Tharwat Swailum said the association was “discussing the request,” but would not comment further.